Changing Definitions of Security

A principal characteristic of terrorism, distinguishing it from many

other forms of violence, is its ability to strike directly at perceptions

of personal security. The potential for nuclear war or cross-border

aggression by states may inspire a sense of fear among individuals,

but the sense of vulnerability is collective and abstract. Individuals

will certainly be the victims of conflict between states, but leaderships

and military establishments are most often seen as the real targets.

By contrast, terrorism may be indiscriminate or precisely

targeted, but in either instance the victims are individuals within

society.

This characteristic of terrorism is arguably gaining visibility from the

point of view of perpetrators and sponsors as well as publics and

governments as post–Cold War definitions of security evolve. In

addition to a greater emphasis on “economic security,” “environmental

security,” and other issues that were of distinctly secondary

importance during the Cold War, security perceptions are now

increasingly driven by concerns about personal security and what

may be termed “security of identity.” The terrorist instrument has

particular leverage in both contexts. For example, the victory of

Benjamin Netanyahu in the most recent Israeli elections was less the

result of a referendum on the peace process than a referendum on

personal security in the wake of multiple terrorist attacks. In many

places around the world—including the United States—debates

about security are to a great degree about personal security rather

than the security of the state. This is certainly true in much of the

Third World, and increasingly true in the former Soviet Union, where

terrorism and crime are now rampant. One indicator of this

phenomenon has been the rapid growth in private security services

worldwide. This privatization of security may have some negative

consequences for counterterrorism to the extent that more material

and know-how finds it way into terrorist hands.

Security of identity has emerged as an important issue in many settings.

It is not necessary to accept arguments about a global clash of

civilizations to acknowledge that perceptions of cultural identity are

shaping relations between societies and regions in the post–Cold

War era. Violent reactions can arise when identities are under siege,

sometimes in the form of terrorism. Current examples include the

Uighur region in western China, Sri Lanka, Kashmir, and the Kurdish

region of southeastern Turkey. Reactions to cultural assimilation can

also take the form of global fears of cultural imperialism—a criticism

most often aimed at the United States with its overwhelming role as

purveyor of international tastes and information. The net result of

this trend may be to increase the exposure of institutions engaged in

integrative activities of all sorts (U.S. entertainment and communications

firms, the European Union (EU) bureaucracies, regional organizations,

etc.) to terrorist action.

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